Chapter 19: New Moon Town

~~~

After days of travel, New Moon Town finally appears in the distance.

Liu Jin is not impressed.

As far as size goes, New Moon Town does not seem to be even a tenth of Eastern Port City’s size. Large trees grow all around it. It almost looks as if they are about to swallow the tiny town at any moment. The town walls look sturdy enough but compared to the city walls of Eastern Port City, even calling them fences may be too much.

Upon reaching the town gates, Liu Jin notices there are not many people going in or out. It does not seem like New Moon Town gets many visitors. That is why it is all too easy to spot two people wearing robes that look similar to what the Xiao Sect’s disciples wear. It looks like they are waiting for someone.

“Those are the clothes worn by Branch Sect Disciples,” Xiao Nan whispers to him. “No doubt, these two have been sent to greet us.”

When Liu Jin turns to look at Xiao Nan, he receives a surprise. Xiao Nan’s usual robes, which denote his status as a Core Disciple of the Xiao Sect, are nowhere to be found. Instead, he is wearing simple clothes with faded colors.

“Elder Brother?”

Xiao Nan smiles reassuringly.

“It is fine, Little Brother. It is fine. Just keep walking and ignore those men. We don’t need them just yet.”

Liu Jin furrows his brow, unable to comprehend Xiao Nan’s intentions. Nevertheless, he complies. Liu Jin and Xiao Nan keep on walking. They pass by the two members of the Xiao Sect’s local branch and make their way inside New Moon Town.

The first thing Liu Jin notices are the streets. They are very narrow. It is still the middle of the day, so there are many people moving about inside the town. As Liu Jin keeps having to move to avoid bumping into others, he decides he does not like cramped places very much.

“Elder Brother, why did we just do that?” Liu Jin asks once they are a few blocks away from the town gates.

“If we allowed those two to receive us, they would have treated us with reverent respect. We would already be on the way to the local branch where we would be treated to a banquet in our honor. It would all be fairly nice, but it would make us too visible right away. Right now, we can explore the town without anyone knowing who we are. It is a good chance to learn things.”

Things that may have been kept hidden from them if they went to the local branch right away. Xiao Nan does not need to say it. When an important guest is going to visit, it is natural to clean your house the day before. If there are messes that cannot be fixed in time, those messes are hidden. No one wants to be known as a person who lives in a messy house. By walking around town incognito, Xiao Nan is free to form his own opinion without anyone trying to color his perspective.

Not for the first time, it strikes Liu Jin that Xiao Nan is really amazing. Not only is he strong, but he has a sharp mind. As long as he is there, the Xiao Sect has nothing to fear from the future.

“Understood, Elder Brother.”

“Alright then!” Xiao Nan slaps his hands together. “Let’s get something to eat!”

~~~

“Mm, these are delicious. You have to try them, Little Brother.”

Liu Jin stares as Xiao Nan pops another candied kumquat into his mouth. After walking around town for about half an hour, Xiao Nan zeroed in on the restaurant they are currently eating at. Judging by the size and furnishing of the place, Liu Jin is willing to bet it is one of the nicer places in New Moon Town. Their clothes are still dirty from traveling, so the receptionist looked at them with unease at first. Xiao Nan’s money, however, took care of that little problem.

After that, Xiao Nan ordered sweets and nothing but sweets or would have had Liu Jin not been able to convince him to order some tea as well. In fact, their table is completely full of the many sweets Xiao Nan ordered

Liu Jin takes a deep breath.

“Elder Brother, I thought we were supposed to gather information.”

“Ah, but we are gathering information, Little Brother.” It amazes Liu Jin that Xiao Nan manages to say that much with all the food in his mouth. “Places where people eat are always good for finding out stuff if you care to listen. Well, there are other places we could have gone, but Little Brother is still too young for those.”

Liu Jin furrows his brow. Xiao Nan would not lie to him. Liu Jin is sure of that. At the same time, it is a bit hard to believe him since all his attention seems to be aimed at the sweets. More than anything, Xiao Nan seems to be relishing the chance to eat as many sweets as he can.

“The couple at the end of the room is having financial troubles,” Xiao Nan says, nodding to the side. The motion is so sudden Liu Jin almost misses it. Still, he follows the direction of Xiao Nan’s nod and finds an elderly couple. They are speaking in whispers. Combined with the chatter of the other customers, there is no way Liu Jin can listen to what they are saying.

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“Being able to listen is an important skill,” Xiao Nan tells him while taking a moment to drink some tea. “Don’t worry. Right now, I can keep track of all the conversations happening in this room. Just enjoy yourself. I know Little Brother has to be hungry. You have only touched your tea so far. You need to try out the sweets as well.”

All the conversations in the room?

Liu Jin sighs. As expected, this person is way too amazing.

“As expected, Elder Brother is amazing.”

Xiao Nan waves a hand. “I’ve just had a few more years to live in this world than Little Brother. That is all there is to it. But really, eat some sweets. They are fairly good for something produced in a place like this.”

Liu Jin nods and pops a candied kumquat into his mouth.

It is delicious.

Liu Jin brings a hand to his cheek as his teeth sink into the treat. The sweet, citrusy taste floods his mouth in an instant.

It bears noting Liu Jin has never been one for sweets. That is not because Liu Jin hates them. Not at all. Rather, Liu Jin has never had the time for them. During his early years, the clinic did not make much money, enough to afford the food they needed but rarely more. Even now, due to his father’s very affordable rates, the clinic is not exactly swimming in money. Furthermore, between his many duties, Liu Jin never has the time to spoil himself. The very notion is something foreign to Liu Jin.

As he swallows the candied kumquat, however, that changes. Xiao Nan looks at him with a knowing smile.

“Good, it is not?”

Liu Jin manages to spare time for a nod before digging in. Both Liu Jin and Xiao Nan have been walking all day, so they have built up quite an appetite. The sight of them stuffing their mouths with as many sweets as they can is not pretty, but no one can deny they are enjoying their food.